Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

When I came into office there had been people from Fine Gael and the Labour Party in Government before me who had not been able to provide €1 million for emergency services. My commitment in this area has been proven and there are discussions taking place to ensure that the most vulnerable are not affected and that they find other savings than what may have been suggested by anybody else. That is my statement to the people today. That is the commitment on which I intend to achieve an outcome. With all due respect, despite the Deputy's continued efforts to suggest otherwise, decisions have not been taken in respect of what we want to see taking place as a result of the ongoing discussions.

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